Video tutorials from Rootstech 2012 now available on-line

Rootstech is where genealogy meets geek. The annual Rootstech at Salt Lake City, sponsored by Familysearch (the website of the LDS church) unveils new advances in all sorts of technology to help us genealogists pursue our obsession.

Now Familysearch has put some of the keynote talks from the 2012 conference here on the Rootstech website. I found the video "Effective Database Search Techniques"  particularly useful (it's in the top line of the available videos).


In a roundabout way, trying to view these videos taught me two other things - keep your device drivers up to date on your PC/Mac and use an up-to-date firewall which you have tweaked yourself so you know what you have allowed in and out. Worth checking every so often, as both of these factors were responsible for me initially not being able to play these videos at all ....


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One of the first mentions of a Fitzhenry in North America?

The book "Maine Wills 1640-1760" by William Sargent was published in 1887 under the auspices of the Maine Historical Society. The aim of the book was to document all the wills of the old County of York (Maine and Massachusetts) in whichever archive or record office they resided.
This book recently been imaged and indexed on the Geneanet.org website, and contains a very early reference to a Fitz-Henry in North America.

Arundel August ye 28 1724.
The Deposition of William Huges & Ruth Huges of full
age Saith that they heard lames Fite Henry Say that he
Desired to make a wife of lennet McCulland and Some few
Days before he was killed by the Indians and he told us that
if he Should be taken away Suddenly it was his will and
that he gave unto his Girl lennet McCulland all the Estate
he had and that the above sd lames Fite Henry was at the
Same time in his Majesties Service and that this Deposition
was Comitted to writing within Six Days after it was known
he was Killed by the Indians.


William Huges W his mark


Sworn to 3 Nov. 1724, by William Huges, also 28 Jan. 1724-5, by Ruth Huges. Allowed
in Court and probated 28 Jan. 1724-5

According to the preface, the wills were copied "verbatim, literatim and punctuatim" so any variations from the King's English have been preserved in the writing! Huges was probably Hughes, and Iennet was Jennet, a common woman's name at the time. 
The capital I was interchangeable for both I and J, and hence Iames Fite Henry is James Fite (or Fitz) Henry.
James Fitz-Henry was a soldier serving in the army of King George 1, the first Hanover King of Britain and its colonies. I know nothing more about James.
The County of York embraced the whole Province of Maine until 1760, when it was divided into separate counties. The chief executive of the province exercised all the powers of a supreme probate court in England. Arundel is still in York County, Maine and a history of the town written in 1886 can be found here
William Huges uses a W for his mark rather than the more common X.

Notice the years when the will was sworn and probated. This was during the period when the Julian calendar year started on the 1st January, but the British Civil and Legal year started on March 25th. Dates in this range showed both the "old style" and "new style" year dates (here 1724-5). This is often seen in old parish registers. 
In 1752, the New Year was standardised as January 1st with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar throughout the whole of the British Empire (including North America). The one remaining exception is the British Tax year which continued to start on April 5th (which was the new Gregorian equivalent of the old Julian March 25th) until 1800 when it changed to April 6th. 

Will reference Probate Office, 3, 163.
Page 290, Maine wills : 1640-1760
Author : Sargent, William M. pub. Portland Maine, 1887

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I've been contacted by Mr Bob Russell who writes

I came across your blog when looking for information about Samuel Foster (1818-1905) of Tonduff near Abbeyleix. I was very grateful to find the details of his marriage to Elizabeth FitzHenry in Waterford in 1867 on your FitzHenry Project website.
More especially, I was really pleased to discover that Richard Boate was a witness. You may be interested to know that Richard Foster Boate (1832-1916) was a first cousin of Samuel Foster.
Richard was the son of John Boate (1791-1840) and Mary Foster (1795-1875) of Noremount Farm, near Abbeyleix.
I am nearly certain that Mary Foster was the sister of William Foster, Samuel Foster's father.

My great-grandfather, Joseph Gibson of Durrow, Queen's County, Ireland, married Margaret Boate. She was a sister of Richard Foster Boate and, therefore, a first cousin of Samuel Foster of Tonduff. The Gibsons were Methodists. Richard Foster Boate's descendants were Methodists. It would seem that Samuel Foster's family were also Methodists. This will help me discover more about the Fosters of Tonduff.

From the 1901 Census in Ireland, Samuel and Elizabeth were still residing at Tonduff. Samuel was aged 80 years and Elizabeth was aged 62 years. Elizabeth Foster (née FitzHenry) was, therefore, born circa 1839 in County Wexford. Samuel Foster was a farmer and landowner in 1901.

If you have any further information about this family, or want to contact Mr Russell, please send an email to the blog and we will forward it to him.  

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Pictures from the American Civil War

On the website of The Atlantic is the first of three collections of photos taken 150 years ago. Amazing in their clarity and shocking in the frank way in which the conditions of the battlefields are shown. 
Many of our Fitzhenry forebears were affected by the war, from the Irish emigrants who escaped poverty and famine to find themselves actually involved in the conflict, to the families they left behind in Ireland, to the cotton mill workers in the industrial north-east of England who lost their livelihoods when the raw cotton was not harvested during the war.
Well worth a look.

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Reduced prices on DNA testing at FamilyTreeDNA again

Quick news flash - the 37 marker Y-DNA test has been reduced from $149 to $129 until midnight on Saturday 21 April (USA time).
The prices will automatically be adjusted on the site when applying through the Fitzhenry surname DNA project, so no need for a code.

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge - another Fitzhenry connection

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened 80 years ago today on 19th March 1932. The engineer responsible for the detailed design was Ralph (later Sir Ralph) Freeman, of the London engineering company Douglas Fox & Partners.

Ralph Freeman's wife was Mary Lines, the fourth child of Joseph Lines and Jane Fitzhenry (both of London, England, family group 004 in the database). They were married at St Olaves Church, Stoke Newington London on 14th July and had four children Ralph (1911) James (1914) Patrick (1919) and Diana (1924). 

I have featured this family before, as three of Mary's brothers (Walter, William Joseph and George Edward) formed Triang Toys and Walter became chairman of Hamley's toy shop on Regents Street, London. (Link to the Triang toys story)


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"Fitzhenry clan set for Presidential honours"

Published earlier this week (15th March) in the Gorey Echo (County Wexford, Ireland). Congratulations to the Fitzhenry brothers (Damien, Mark, Tom, Séamus, John, Martin, Gerard, Noel, Paddy and Fran) who represented their club and county at both hurling and Gaelic football

THE GREAT Fitzhenry clan of Duffry Rovers fame are set to be honoured by the GAA at the President’s Awards this Friday night in Croke Park.

The family have been synonymous with the club’s greatest successes, with the 10 brothers having campaigned in the green-white-and-gold in addition to also serving Wexford in both codes and at the highest levels with plenty of distinction.

The women didn’t sit back and admire their brothers’ exploits though, as the three sisters, Tina, Mary and Ann starred in camogie circles.

The President’s Awards have been in operation for quite some time.

But the Family Acknowledgement Award was only introduced last year, when the family of the late Dermot Earley of Roscommon and Kildare renown were honoured.

Indeed, this award is now known as the Dermot Earley Family Award, and the Fitzhenrys are very deserving to be the second-ever recipients after a lifetime of outstanding service to Gaelic games, from their talents on the playing fields, to management, club administration and even match-commentary, with the award being presented in acknowledgement of outstanding family contribution to the GAA.

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The Fitzhenrys of Macmine Castle

Colm Moriarty emailed us to say that the Bree Heritage Site (County Wexford, Ireland) has just published a history of the Fitzhenrys of Macmine castle.
It's a jolly good read, and many thanks Colm for letting us know about it.

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How others see us....

Dr Jim Owston who runs the Owston One Name study has give me permission to republish these "How others see us " postcards which he has put together.

My favourite caption is from the "Genealogists" card - How society sees us -  my Significant Other refers to my hobby as "bone bothering"....

And for those still considering doing the DNA test, no, we don't want any of your blood - whether extracted by a vampire or any other means!

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In memoriam Vera (Catherine Veronica) Green nee Fitz-Henry 1935-2011

Clarinda Sheehan (nee Fitz-Henry) from Dublin, an old friend of the Blog, has written to tell us of the death of her sister Vera on the 24th December 2011.
Clarinda and Vera are from the line of Samuel Fitz-Henry and Mary Ann Banks, and his son Robert Fitz-Henry and Catherine Laird (Family Group 75). This old Irish Methodist family now has branches in England, South Africa and Australia. 
Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

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In memoriam Jack Fitzhenry 1938-2012

The Blog would like to send our condolences to the family of Jack Fitzhenry of North Arlington, New Jersey, who had died at the age of 74.
You can read his obituary here and to quote from it:
"Jack was a retired Toll Collector and also owned the Cedar Bar in North Arlington. He was a member of the Queen of Peace Council Knights of Columbas #3428 and was a Eucharist Minister at Queen of Peace Church. He was a CYO volunteer and football coach. He also coached football for Boystown in Kearny. Jack loved his Irish heritage and was a member of The Ironbound Irish American Club"


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In memoriam: Joan Lillian Fitzhenry

The Blog wishes to send our condolences to the family of Joan Lillian Fitzhenry of North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia who died on 30th December 2011 at the age of 81 years.

Joan's obituary from the Sydney Morning Herald may be found here.

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FamilyTreeDNA - reduced prices on testing kits until 7 January

I've just had word through from FamilyTreeDNA that they are continuing to hold their prices at the "Christmas Special" level until January 7th 2012.
This is US$119 for the 37 marker test (usually US$149), and US$ 199 for the 67 marker test (usually US$238)

As project co-ordinator, I have ordered some 37 marker tests at this price to have on standby. So if you, or a Fitzhenry/Fitz-Henry male relative decides to take the test in the future (out of the price reduction period), contact me first before ordering as I may still have a reduced price kit left.

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Happy New Year and some more NSW BMDs

Greeting to you all at the start of 2012. I hope it is a good one for you, your family and of course, your family history research.

Bev Kronk has sent me the newly released batch of births , marriages and deaths from New South Wales. These are births from 1911, marriages from1951 and deaths from 1981.
If you wish to order any certificates, details can be found on the website for the NSW Government. You can also search the NSW BMD indexes for free on the same site.

Births 1911

Registration Number	Last name	Given names(s)	Father's given name	Mother's given name	District
37349/1911	FITZHENRY	Ellen	Ernest	Alice M	Balmain South

Marriages 1961

Registration number	Groom's surname	Groom's given names(s)	Bride's last name at time of marriage	Bride's given names	District
1825/1961 [1325/1961]	FITZHENRY	Kevin	MACDONALD	Marjorie May	Sydney
18442/1961	FITZHENRY	Thomas Patrick	FITZHENRY	Joan Lilian	Albury
22523/1961	BLACKMORE	Donald Verdun	FITZHENRY	Jeanette Yvonne	Sydney

Deaths 1981

Registration Number	Last name	Given names(s)	Father's given name	Mother's given name
25767/1981	FITZHENRY	Anthony John Paul	Stephen Gerard	Colleen Ann
107464/1981	FITZHENRY	Edward Ernest	Archibald	Ivy
13637/1981	FITZHENRY	Norman Stanley	Frederick	Ada Mary
489/1981	FITZHENRY	Owen	William Ernest	Sylvia May

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Free access to military databases on Ancestry this weekend

To commemorate Remembrance Sunday, Ancestry are allowing free access to the following military databases:

• British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
• British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920
• British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
• Gateshead, Durham, England, Roll of Honour, 1914-1920

Here is the link to all Ancestry's military databases. If you already have a subscription, then you may find that new databases have been added since you last looked, including the registers of the award of the Silver War Badge, which was featured in the post about Peter Fitzhenry of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

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Daniel Fitzhenry - a scouting hero

On the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the Blog would like to hail another hero, Dan Fitzhenry who has earned one of scouting's highest honours, the Silver Beaver.

Dan has been involved with the scouting movement for over 40 years. After 9/11, as a member of a special On-Call Federal “Immediate Go” Disaster Team for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, he helped provide medical assistance to 6,000 emergency workers at Ground Zero. He credits his scouting training for his level of preparedness

He has also provided similar assistance after the earthquake in Port Au Prince in Haiti, and hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Gustav and Ike.

A full text of the article can be found here

Well done Dan.

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The Lines family - defining an English childhood

Sometimes this research gets seriously personal and starts tapping into my own personal history. What started out as a "tidying up" exercise on the database led me into the toy buying habits of my childhood. Here's how it goes...

Lesley Champion's Fitzhenry family (family tree 04 on the database) married not once, but twice into the Lines family.

Benjamin Fitzhenry (1848-1925) married Mary Ann Lines on 31 July 1875 at St James Church, Clerkenwell, London. Benjamin was Lesley's great grandfather.
His sister Jane Fitzhenry married Mary Ann's brother, Joseph Lines, at St Andrew's church, Holborn, on 30 June 1877.

Joseph and his brother George were toymakers. Very successful ones. They had factories all over London and traded under the name G&J Lines which was founded in 1876.

Jane and Joseph had seven children. Three of the sons, Walter, George and William went straight into the family firm, and then set up their own firm Lines Bros. in 1919 when they returned from fighting in the Great War.

And this is where my research got seriously spooky. Because it seemed that virtually every toy that I had owned when I was a child was a product from these Lines boys. In 1924, they relocated to South London and rebranded as Triang Toys (as a triangle is made up of three Lines).

Triang grew over the next fifty years and at one time claimed to be the biggest toy manufacturer in the world. Triang acquired Hornby (model train makers), Pedigree (doll makers, creators of Cindy, the main competitor to Barbie), Meccano (click here for the original stuff made by the Triang company) Play-doh, Scalectrix (model racing cars) and Dinky (model cars) amongst others.

The Triang company collapsed in 1971 and the various components were sold. Most of the successful toys are still produced.

For a fuller history of Triang, follow this link to the Victoria and Albert Museum's website

Even better, Walter Lines, became the chairman of Hamleys Toy shop of Regent Street, London when in 1931 the Lines brothers took over the struggling business. Hamleys in the 1970s was THE toyshop in London if not the whole of England. It was such a treat to be taken to the shop on Regents Street by my parents.

Virtually every child in Britain the later part of the 20th century would have had a toy made by the Lines Brothers. And those Lines Brothers were half Fitzhenry.

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Another Fitzhenry model

Sometimes I look over the wide family of Fitzhenrys and think "You're good looking and talented lot".
Last year we featured the Australian Codie Young, modelling in Vogue, whose mother was a Fitzhenry.

Cole Fitzhenry is another model, currently working in Scandanavia, and his blog is here.
If you're reading this Cole, let us know more about you and how you are related to the great Fitz(-)henry clan.

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DNA testing - reduced prices until 21st July

FamilyTreeDNA, the DNA testing company which hosts our Fitz(-)henry DNA project is having a "summer sale"
If you have been thinking about joining the DNA study, for a very limited time, there is a substantial discount.
Go to the Fitz(-)henry surname project page for more details or to sign up for the test. We recommend the Y-DNA 37 test for our surname study.

Here is the deal from FamilyTreeDNA - any tests will have to be paid for by the 21st July to qualify for the discount.

Dear Project Administrator,

Last summer, we offered special pricing to attract new members to your projects. This was the most successful offering of its type in our company's history. Our project administrators that got behind the recruitment efforts saw their projects grow, and, thus, our database also grew. With this in mind, we'd like to offer a summer special again this year.

• Y-DNA37 for $119 (Regular price would be $149)
• Y-DNA67 for $199 (Regular price would be $239)
• Family Finder for $199 (Regular price would be $289)
• Family Finder + Y-DNA37 for $318 (Regular price would be $438)
• Family Finder + mtDNAPlus for $318 (Regular Price would be $438)
• mtDNA Full Sequence for $219 (Regular Price would be $299)
• SuperDNA for $418 (Regular Price would be $518, includes Y-DNA67 and mtFullSequence)
• Comprehensive Genome for $617 (Regular Price would be $797, includes Y-DNA67, mtFullSequence and Family Finder)

In addition, existing Family Tree DNA customers may order the Family Finder
add-on for $199

The promotion will start today, Friday the 15th at 6PM CST and will end Thursday, July 21, 11:59PM CST. Kits need to be paid for by the end of the promotion.

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Useful (and unhelpful) things you may find in a marriage register

I've been trawling the Irish marriage registers at the London Family History Centre today.

I found an example each of the brilliantly useful and the rubbishly unhelpful things that make up the spectrum of the information in the registers.

Firstly the unhelpful. Considering how many Mary Fitzhenrys are in the database, the least the priest could do at the marriage of Mary Ann Fitzhenry and Christopher Boyne was to record her father's name so at least there was some way of differentiating her from the others

October 27th 1868
Marriage solemnized in the Roman Catholic chapel of Leixlip, in the Registrar's District of Lucan, in the Union of Celbridge in the county of Kildare.
Christopher Boyne, aged 30, bachelor, ploughman, residence Ravensdale Leixlip, father Thomas Boyne blacksmith.
To
Mary Ann Fitzhenry, aged 25, spinster, servant, residence Leixlip, parents dead.

And now to the really helpful:

16 January 1867
Marriage solemnized in the Roman Catholic chapel of Cushinstown, in the Registrar's District of Old Ross, in the Union of New Ross in the County of Wexford.

Patrick Fitzhenry, aged 23, bachelor, farmer, father Laurence Fitzhenry, farmer
To
Ellen Byrne, full age, spinster, father James Byrne, farmer
Residence at the time of marriage: "on their way to America, formerly Ballyleigh, Rathgarogue"

So we know that Patrick and Ellen planned to emigrate in very shortly after their marriage. Unfortunately, a quick trawl through the 1870 and 1880 US censuses haven't revealed a Patrick and Ellen Fitzhenry yet, but if you recognise this couple then please drop us a line here at the blog.

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